UPDATED: Denver International Airport inching back to “normal,” but many Thursday flights already canceled

Cancelled flights are shown on a departure board in Denver International Airport on Wednesday. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Thursday morning, it had become apparent that the magnitude of the spring storm that hit Colorado Wednesday afternoon, while major, wouldn’t be as great as predicted or as great as the March 13 “Bomb Cyclone” storm.

At least, not at Denver International Airport.

Yet it still got messy, with what DIA officials said were 755 flight cancellations Wednesday and, as of early Thursday morning, 180 more on Thursday.

In a 4:30 a.m. Thursday update, DIA officials said they expected most airlines “to be operating as normal by early afternoon.” They added: “This morning, (DIA) has received a little over two inches of snow,. Crews worked overnight clearing the airfield and landside roads of snow and ice. . . Pena Boulevard is clear but remains snow packed and icy.”

Passengers again were urged to check with their airlines to confirm the flight’s status and to arrive at the airport at least two hours before departure. Of course, Weld County-based travelers also should take road conditions into consideration when deciding when to head to the airport.

A 7:06 a.m. update on the DIA website noted: “The airport and runways are open and airlines are resuming operations, however cancellations (Thursday) are still possible.”

For the sake of comparison, the March 13 Bomb Cyclone storm led to the cancellation of 1,378 flights. All six runways were closed for only the fourth time in DIA history. The previous times were in 2003, 2006 and 2016.

Many of the Wednesday cancellations were pre-emptive, made before the storm hit. By Wednesday afternoon, United and Southwest had canceled the remainder of their Wednesday flights and Frontier had only a few flights still scheduled.

This was the update posted on DIA’s Twitter account at 5:12 a.m. Thursday:

Good morning! Airport crews worked through the night to keep runways and roadways clear. Some cancellations and delays are expected today, so be sure to check your flight status with your airline!

As the storm approached, with a sense of humor, the DIA Twitter account offered this at 10:01 a.m. Wednesday:

❄️🌨️❄️ is expected to begin this afternoon. In advance of the storm, several airlines have cancelled afternoon and evening flights. Don't forget to check with your airline to confirm your flight status! pic.twitter.com/nRZvN5XnfB

Due to expected impact from a strong winter storm in the Rocky Mountain region on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 and Thursday, April 11, 2019, flights have been cancelled. Please visit https://t.co/DAre0d8UrO for more information. pic.twitter.com/ZB5fCZvOoB

In line with that, other airlines also didn’t issue play-by-play, but let general tweets with links suffice as their Twitter updates.

United had tweeted this at 5:25 p.m. Tuesday:

We've issued a travel waiver for the Great Plains and Colorado due to winter weather. If you're traveling 4/10 or 4/11, you can change your flight at no cost on our mobile app, by direct messaging us here or calling Reservations at 1-800-864-8331. Waiver: https://t.co/IF60HgPIKrpic.twitter.com/WSQN6z8b8e